Hisma
100+ Head-Fier
got a case for it
my impressions after several weeks of ownership - R2R is the real deal. The depth, wide staging, holographic quality & even micro detail (which I think is due to the added depth), while still having that smooth, organic analog sound, is something you simply need to experience for yourself to appreciate. It's breathed new life into my old music collection.
However, this device is not without flaws. Biggest one (and it may be a deal-breaker for many) is it somehow brings out sibilance in certain frequencies, most notably in cymbal crashes. It's not egregiously bad unless the recording quality is poor, or the mix is bad, but its still noticeable enough to take me out of the music when it rears its ugly head. Also I get audible noisefloor between notes on quieter tracks... again it depends on the mix on how noticeable it is. There is a gain switch with 3 settings - ultra low, low, and high. Even in ultra-low I still get some of the characteristics I mentioned, but less pronounced. High is obviously more pronounced noise, but not an egregious amount... and I find in high gain the benefits in increased bass extension outweigh the additional noise. I tend to stay in high gain unless I'm listening to a track that brings out those flaws I mention.
So you gotta think, this thing is roughly $800, and has some pretty glaring issues, as I highlight here. But its also the only portable R2R dac/amp on the market, so it's expected to come with some compromises. I wonder if their uber expensive gold model exhibits similar characteristics (I'd hope not).
Despite the flaws I mentioned, I take it on the go with me on a daily basis, and it's taken my mobile listening experience to another level. The combo of the depth/width/& holographic imaging, combined with that tube-like analog sound, in a mobile package, it's just a pure joy. The size slips perfectly into my front pocket, or a jacket pocket (depending on what I'm wearing). The bt quality is so good I don't need to worry about awkward usb cables. Phone goes in one pocket, DAC in the other. It's just too bad I can't enjoy my entire music collection due to the sibilance/noise floor that pops up in certain tracks. Despite price and flaws, I'm still keen to rec this thing, just bc it provides such an incredibly unique mobile listening experience. If only hifiman could get the noise issues under control (in fact i plan to reach out to them to check if my model has the new power supply that supposedly addresses noise complaints).
This thing is also rare as hell. It's a challenge to get even inside China, let alone outside. But I encourage anyone with the balls to deal with taobao to consider this as the only mobile R2R dac that's not absurdly priced. I'll reach out to hifiman in the meantime and see what they say about my unit...
my impressions after several weeks of ownership - R2R is the real deal. The depth, wide staging, holographic quality & even micro detail (which I think is due to the added depth), while still having that smooth, organic analog sound, is something you simply need to experience for yourself to appreciate. It's breathed new life into my old music collection.
However, this device is not without flaws. Biggest one (and it may be a deal-breaker for many) is it somehow brings out sibilance in certain frequencies, most notably in cymbal crashes. It's not egregiously bad unless the recording quality is poor, or the mix is bad, but its still noticeable enough to take me out of the music when it rears its ugly head. Also I get audible noisefloor between notes on quieter tracks... again it depends on the mix on how noticeable it is. There is a gain switch with 3 settings - ultra low, low, and high. Even in ultra-low I still get some of the characteristics I mentioned, but less pronounced. High is obviously more pronounced noise, but not an egregious amount... and I find in high gain the benefits in increased bass extension outweigh the additional noise. I tend to stay in high gain unless I'm listening to a track that brings out those flaws I mention.
So you gotta think, this thing is roughly $800, and has some pretty glaring issues, as I highlight here. But its also the only portable R2R dac/amp on the market, so it's expected to come with some compromises. I wonder if their uber expensive gold model exhibits similar characteristics (I'd hope not).
Despite the flaws I mentioned, I take it on the go with me on a daily basis, and it's taken my mobile listening experience to another level. The combo of the depth/width/& holographic imaging, combined with that tube-like analog sound, in a mobile package, it's just a pure joy. The size slips perfectly into my front pocket, or a jacket pocket (depending on what I'm wearing). The bt quality is so good I don't need to worry about awkward usb cables. Phone goes in one pocket, DAC in the other. It's just too bad I can't enjoy my entire music collection due to the sibilance/noise floor that pops up in certain tracks. Despite price and flaws, I'm still keen to rec this thing, just bc it provides such an incredibly unique mobile listening experience. If only hifiman could get the noise issues under control (in fact i plan to reach out to them to check if my model has the new power supply that supposedly addresses noise complaints).
This thing is also rare as hell. It's a challenge to get even inside China, let alone outside. But I encourage anyone with the balls to deal with taobao to consider this as the only mobile R2R dac that's not absurdly priced. I'll reach out to hifiman in the meantime and see what they say about my unit...
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